Standing in the way of Alex Pereira’s three-division UFC championship aspirations is a significant roadblock in Ciryl Gane at the White House event. While both fighters are known for their striking prowess, Jiri Prochazka seemingly tags Pereira as “better.” It’s quite a surprising prediction, considering Pereira is making his heavyweight debut against a veteran like Gane. But Prochazka has his reasons.
“I believe Alex can do that, especially how I saw his weight is going up,” said Prochazka during Adin Ross’ livestream. “He’s strong enough, and in the stand-up, I believe he will be better. But Gane is a lot of movement for that.”
For those unaware, Alex Pereira has already entered the heavyweight division and will make his debut against Ciryl Gane in the co-main event of the UFC White House card on June 14. Now, the move that ‘Poatan’ is set to make is quite rare. Interestingly, Pereira entered the leading MMA promotion as a middleweight.
After a successful stint in the 185-pound division, he moved up to the light heavyweight division. Just as Pereira had crowned himself the UFC middleweight champion, he also went on to reign as the 205-pound king. Previously, the community has seen Jake Collier as a fighter who made his UFC debut as a middleweight but went on to compete in the heavyweight division.
Jiri Prochazka REVEALED why he believes Alex Pereira would DOMINATE Ciryl Gane in a heavyweight match in UFC
“I believe Alex can do that, especially how I saw his weight is going up. He’s strong enough and in the stand up, I believe he will be better.”
“But Gane is a lot… pic.twitter.com/QghdYz9eKf
— Cage ☆ (@CageClips) April 5, 2026
While the move seemed quite promising, Collier lost his UFC heavyweight debut fight against Tom Aspinall. That said, ‘Poatan’ seemingly wouldn’t be bothered by such records. One, he has a never-before-achieved record to make. With the interim UFC heavyweight title at stake, Pereira has an opportunity to become the first three-division champion in the promotion’s history.
But of course, Ciryl Gane isn’t someone to overlook. He has already won the interim heavyweight title once by beating Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. Despite that, the Frenchman has yet to win UFC gold. With a win over Pereira, Gane can align himself for a heavyweight championship for the fourth time.
However, according to Jiri Prochazka, toppling the Brazilian wouldn’t be an easy task for ‘Bon Gamin.’ Having said that, this might lead one to wonder what other aspects might be behind Prochazka’s favoring of Pereira to win. This preference might stem from the Czech fighter’s own experience of fighting the Brazilian.
Jiri Prochazka opens up about potential Alex Pereira trilogy fight
During Alex Pereira’s time in the UFC light heavyweight division, he fought Jiri Prochazka twice. The first encounter at UFC 295 was for the vacant 205-pound title. Meanwhile, at UFC 303, they fought again. And on both occasions, Pereira defeated Prochazka via TKO.
Hence, Prochazka is someone who is well aware of the Brazilian’s striking prowess. Despite that, the Czech fighter isn’t overlooking a potential trilogy matchup against ‘Poatan.’
“For me, every fight is [like a] title fight,” said Prochazka in an interview with MMA Junkie. “This is the first thing [that] I have to say. And I don’t look to have some revenge against Pereira or whatever. I’m just looking to show my best performance, and that’s it.
“If I [meet Alex] in the future in the next, third fight, I will, I hope, and I believe that I will show my best and I will win. But till that moment, I’m looking [at] what’s before me.”
After Alex Pereira announced his move to the heavyweight division, he vacated the light heavyweight crown. Now, Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg have the opportunity to crown themselves as the new 205-pound champion at UFC 327 on April 11.
Surely, if both Pereira and Prochazka win their upcoming fights, the prospect of their trilogy bout would sound interesting. However, the ultimate decision will lie in the hands of the UFC. On that note, do you want to see these two standout UFC stars fight in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
